Ghostbusters

So, shock horror! Of course Ghostbusters works with a female cast. The fact that this was the cause of so much furore is, frankly, ridiculous and easily the best thing about this new re-imagining is the casual comments Kristen Wiig et al make to the haters ("Ain't no bitches gonna hunt no ghosts.")

Having said this, and much like Now You See Me 2 which I reviewed recently, this smacks of a film that just didn't need to be made and didn't have too much hope of reaching the original's heights.

You won't be surprised to learn that this isn't on a par with the original but goes all-out to make as many references and throwbacks as humanly possible (keep count of the awesome cameos) and this aspect draws the most humour.

The four leads are all wonderful and their story arcs even a little more defined and disparate than their 80's equivalents but, in an effort to make this more of a family-friendly film, a few of the jokes fall flat in their all-inclusiveness (plus there's too much toilet humour for a modern, 'progressive' film). There are some cracking lines though, mainly delivered by Leslie Jones' Patty and a brilliantly deranged Kate McKinnon.

The visuals are top notch (it's nice to see what Slimer would look like in 2016) but the story itself sits a little too close to the first: ghosts start to appear, team are initially written off, ghosts manifest themselves as big super-villain who is easily taken out. There's not too much threat here and the big-bad, whilst visually incredible, doesn't last too long.

There are some nice and creepy elements (the opening scene is lovely and old-skool horror-esque) and, like Goosebumps also out this year, feels you with a glowing nostalgia feeling which will leave a smile on your face as you leave the cinema.

A worthy mention, as well, to Chris Hemsworth playing completely against type as the world's worst receptionist.

Without the Ghostbusters hallmarks this would be a bit of an also-ran I'm afraid to say, but there are enough throwbacks to make this a laugh.

Of course this was going to work with a female cast; it's just a shame that they weren't as 'radical' in more important areas.

3 stars ***